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Luna Simulation
This is a simulation of what one would expect to find on a terraformed Luna (or Moon), using formulas from Math And Terraforming. Please note that not even the supercomputers at NASA can provide us with a perfect simulation. The information showed here is only an approximation. Basic data *Distance from Sun: 149.5 million km *Distance from Earth: 0.384 million km *Diameter: 3484 km *Solar Constant: 1.98 *Mass: 0.0123 Earths *Mean density: 3.44 kg/l *Orbital period: 27.322 Earth days *Synodic period (day length): 29.53 Earth days *Rotation axial tilt: similar to Earth Atmosphere See Atmosphere Parameters On the Moon, day length will be very long. A rarefied atmosphere will come with extreme temperature variations. A dense atmosphere will not be held in place for long. During this simulation, we will use an atmosphere with the same pressure at sea level as Earth's and a similar composition. *Atmosphere stability for oxygen molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 4.116 **Moon's gravity (15 degrees C): 19.237 **Moon's gravity (100 degrees C): 24.91 *Atmosphere stability for water molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 7.320 **Moon's gravity (15 degrees C): 34.20 **Moon's gravity (400 degrees C): 44.29 *Atmosphere stability for hydrogen molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 65.88 **Moon's gravity (15 degrees C): 307.8 **Moon's gravity (400 degrees C): 398.5 notes: A value below 10 means stability for over a million years, a value between 10 and 100 means stability between 0.1 and 10 millions of years, while a value higher then 100 means stability for less then 10 thousand years. This calculation does not include solar wind erosion. Conclusion: The atmosphere will not be in equilibrium for a long timescale. While oxygen and nitrogen (which has a similar mass) will remain for at least 10000 years, water vapors will escape more easily. UV radiation will split water molecules. Free hydrogen will be fast lost in space. Oxygen might be replenished by split water molecules. It is water that needs to be brought to the Moon from time to time, to keep it habitable. The atmosphere will look like this: *Ground average temperature: 15 degrees C *Surface pressure at sea level: 1 *Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.664 *Atmosphere breathable height: 75.8 km *Atmosphere total height: 2546 km One can note that the atmosphere will be extremely fluffy in order to maintain a surface pressure equal to Earth's. It will be larger then Moon's radius. It will appear very interesting from Earth. Solar wind will slowly erode this, creating a diffuse tail, that will be visible from Earth using long-time exposure cameras. Temperature Main article: Temperature. The Solar Constant is the same as on Earth (1.98). This provides us with an unique opportunity. However, because the Moon will have a fluffy atmosphere, the use of Anti Greenhouse Technology might be needed. When terraformed, the Moon will have a similar albedo with Earth. Climate Simulation Main article: Climate. On Earth, the average temperature is +15 degrees C. This is the best temperature for humans and is what we want to have on the Moon too. The Moon has a diameter smaller then Earth (0.268). Altitude differences are similar to what we see on Earth. On the other hand, the large atmosphere will easily pass over mountain ridges, allowing air currents to mix the temperature. The main problem is the huge day length, which causes significant temperature variations. Average temperatures for each latitude: At equinox: *poles: -22 C *75 deg: -2 C *60 deg: 6 C *45 deg: 12 C *30 deg: 18 C *15 deg: 22 C *equator: 27 C At winter solstice: *poles: -22 C *75 deg: -22 C *60 deg: -7 C *45 deg: 3 C *30 deg: 10 C *15 deg: 15 C *equator: 20 C At summer solstice: *poles: 12 C *75 deg: 17 C *60 deg: 20 C *45 deg: 21 C *30 deg: 24 C *15 deg: 24 C *equator: 20 C Day - night cycle variation: The Moon has a very long day (30 Earth days). Because of this, there will be huge temperature differences between day and night. *Daily temperature variation: 33 degrees C *Equator day-night variations: 10 to 44 degrees C *Near 45 deg day-night variations: **At equinox: -5 to 29 degrees C **At winter solstice: -14 to 20 degrees C **At summer solstice: 4 to 38 degrees C. Seasons: The Moon will experience similar seasons like Earth. However, it is the day-night cycle that will bring the most significant temperature changes. Conclusion. The Moon will have an interesting and unique climate pattern. Because of the small diameter and fluffy atmosphere, the Moon will not be so hardly affected by day-night fluctuations. At the equator, during night, it will be cold, but water will not freeze, while during day, it will be comparable with temperatures found on Earth's equator. At the poles, during polar day, ice will melt, but it will accumulate during night. At the 45 degrees latitude, we will have a temperate climate. During day, snow will melt even in winter, but during night, it is possible to see snowfall even in summer. Such variations will have an interesting impact on rain fluctuations. During day, the atmosphere will heat and absorb moisture, while during night it will rain, as the atmosphere gets colder. Geography See also: Geography and Geographic Pattern - Craters. The Moon has a complex terrain, with seas (plains), mountains and lots of craters. Once oceans are formed, they will fill many crater basins but will not mandatory be where seas once were. Oceans. The Moon will have two larger oceans, one in NW and one in SE, at the pole. There will also be a lot of endorheic basins, located in craters and depressions. The South ocean might be covered with ice. In North, because temperature rises during day, there is only a small chance for glaciers to form. On the Moon, oceans will have huge waves, because of the low gravity. There is also another problem, tides produced by the Sun will rise water levels in the oceans by over 10 m. An endorheic water basin has no connection to the ocean. Therefore, it is highly sensitive to rainfall fluctuations. Because of this, in time, many lakes and seas will dry, while others will increase in volume. This can be controlled by building a network of vast artificial canyons. For the Moon, this is mandatory, since many water basins are separated only by narrow crater rims. Rivers. The Moon has no classic valleys. Once terraforming is done, water will start to build its own pathways. There will be places of erosion, with steep grades and impressive waterfalls, together with places where sedimentation will occur. However, because of the low gravity, erosion will be about 80 times lower then what we see on Earth. It might be required to build canals for rivers, to drain lakes and create valleys faster. Moon rivers will be short, flowing into a lake or a sea or connecting lakes and seas. Rapids and waterfalls will be frequent. Continents. The Moon will not have a classic continents. There will be a large landmass with two larger oceans and a lot of smaller seas and lakes. Also, there will be many islands and peninsulas. Mountains. The Moon has highlands and mountains. They will not block air currents and will not influence climate. Atmosphere density decreases slowly with altitude. A mountain as high as Everest will experience climate patterns like a 900 m high mountain on Earth. Deserts & wetlands. Because of the long days, water will evaporate during day and will rain during night. Air currents will easily move water vapors from the oceans to almost every dry terrain. There will be no deserts, as little rain will fall in every night. The Sky As one can see above, the atmosphere of the Moon will be very fluffy and will contain far more gasses per square m then Earth's atmosphere, to create the same pressure effect. This will make the sky blue like on Earth. However, dim stars will not be visible. Another interesting aspect is that after sunset and before sunrise, there will be light for a longer period of time then on Earth. Still, assuming the sky will allow settlers to see celestial bodies like we see here on Earth, the sky will be interesting. Still, assuming the sky will allow settlers to see celestial bodies like we see here on Earth, the sky will be interesting. *The Sun will appear 9.3 units wide (like an object 9.3 mm wide will appear if you look from a distance of 1 m, see Angular Size for details). *Earth will appear 33.2 units wide, large enough to produce total eclipses. *Venus will have a Magnitude of -2 to 6. *Mars will have a magnitude of -3 to 2. *Jupiter will have a magnitude of -2. *Saturn will have a magnitude of 0 to +1.5, depending on ring phase. Human Colonies *Population limit: 370 million *Land population feeding capacity: 300 people fed from one square km *Largest city supported by environment: 1 500 000 people Assuming it will have similar types of terrain Earth will have, Moon can support a Population Limit of 370 million people. As one can see, climate is not quite friendly. The huge temperature differences between day and night will have a strong impact on any town. People will have to heat themselves during night and cool their homes in day. Still, Moon will have a predictable climate, a thing that is an advantage. Industry The Moon has unexplored resources of minerals, which can sustain its economy. It also has low gravity, which is a good advantage for interplanetary commerce. Because of this, there is a high chance that Moon economy will surpass Earth's in short time. With little gravity, building is far more easy. Towns and industrial centers will develop faster. Being close to Earth, settlers will move more often then on other planets. This might cause overpopulation and Pollution. Colonies might gain their electricity from rivers, which will have many waterfalls. However, with little gravity, a waterfall will produce 80 times less power then what it would produce on Earth. Wind turbines could also be an option. Solar power will be less efficient because of the large atmosphere. Nuclear power will be an option, since the moon has large deposits of helium 3 and unexplored uranium ores. Agriculture Even from the beginning, it will be feasible to practice agriculture on the Moon instead of importing goods from Earth. Without deserts, the Moon has all the conditions to produce food. In most places, crops will survive the night, alone or protected. It should be noted that even at a latitude of 45 degrees, at equinox, water will freeze during night. Temperature variations will have an interesting impact on plants. Some trees will blush at every night, having fruits all year long. Transportation Moon will have a complex transportation network. First of all, the presence of many lakes and islands is a major challenge for building a road or a railway. So, ground transport will be limited, even if it will be possible to build a road to encircle the entire satellite. There will be two oceans and many smaller seas and lakes, which can be used for navigation on a local scale. However, because of the high tides, ports will have to adapt with rising and lowering docks. With a low gravity, the best way to move people and cargo will be by airplanes, which will travel cheaper then on Earth. The Moon has a small Hill sphere. Stable equatorial orbits are possible at low altitude, but polar orbits are less stable. A geosynchronous satellite cannot exist. Still, for the Earth-facing hemisphere, Earth satellites can be used for telecommunications. For the anti-Earth side, there will be many satellites with ever-changing orbits. With many obstacles and a small diameter, ground-based relay stations and wire communications have limited efficiency. The Moon will have one or more bases for spaceships. It is far more easy to send a spaceship into orbit from the Moon then it is for Earth. Moon will share the same Trade Routes with Earth. Most probably, the Moon will use the Earth Space Station for interplanetary transport. Tourism The Moon, being the nearest celestial body to Earth, will be a good touristic destinations. Its oceans, with giant and slow-moving waves, will be an interesting place to visit. Mountain climbers will find it very easy to explore. There is another kind of tourism that the Moon will offer. People with circulatory and respiratory diseases will come here to live in low gravity. This can extend their lives or at least allow them to live in better conditions then on Earth. Wild Life The Moon offers interesting conditions that are suitable for many living creatures on earth. In polar regions, wild life will develop like on Earth. Temperate areas can host forests and pastures. Even with very low temperatures during night, many plants and animals can adapt. Because the Moon will have many isolated islands and landlocked lakes, it can host endangered Earth species that can be preserved this way. Category:Simulation Category:Math